Taking heart in hand and tongue in cheek . . . ^_^
My first try, be gentle, good reader. My mightest thanks to Christopher
Willmore, who graciously gave me a good drubbing down on the mechanics. I
still haven't found a way to put the first paragraph that meets his idea
of flow, it eludes me, for such a simple picture I see so clearly in my
mind's eye. I hope this is better, my eighth try, though the words were
there the first time. I had a bunch of things to put here, but they would
only keep you from reading, so I'll add them at the end.
This is my story, I borrow two beloved anime characters for my own
amusement and not to put their creator out of work.
Begin -
It might have been a vampire's kiss, given all she saw that day.
The sunlight gently drifting down upon the tall, elegant youth,
standing motionless. His frozen face, filled with surprise, pain
and passion. The delicate girl, wrapped in white lace, clinging
to his shoulder. Her bare legs and feet stretching, the gentle
arching of her back and neck. The caress of her small hand at
his throat and the small, blood-red drops slowly trickling from
where her sweet full lips touched his pale white skin. The
quiet, tender, thrilling sounds she made as she savored his sweet
essence and felt his blood rushing beneath her touch.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ari
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
### Coming soon to a fanfic near you. ### [I could not resist. Gomen!]
He remembered the first time. He hadn't understood, then. Her
cold and shivering, the body on the ground, the blood on his
hands . . .
Behind some bushes, a girl sat and trembled. She had followed
them here, deep in the woods and behind the shrine, following and
spying; her heart hurt so . . .
The look in her eyes, the longing, the need, and then . . . and
then . . . The boy shuddered slightly, and the girl's hands
gripped harder, a small moan in her throat as her lips tightened
on his skin, reflexively seeking a better hold . . .
When she had finally found the two of them, here in the clearing
behind the shrine, she had almost screamed, seeing the blood.
They had been so still, unmoving against the shadows. She had
followed them here, away from prying eyes and whispered
questions. The boy, a classmate, a new friend and maybe, she had
hoped, more. The girl, a childhood friend, that now . . . She
shood her head. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but a
month's time past. Her friend, transformed. An undying monster,
a mythical creature that drank human blood to live. Fear and
adrenaline left her shivering. Each heartbeat crashed loudly,
drowning out the hum of blood rushing wildly.
The two of them had been together more and more, these last two
weeks. Her desire to know what had happened between them had
left her desperate, sneaking after them every chance she had.
Now her curiousity had driven her to follow them here . . . to
the woods . . . To this shrine, deep in the shadows and far from
human eyes . . .
It had hurt, the first time. He hadn't known what to expect.
E'ani had uttered one short scream and fled, and then he felt his
own life flowing out. Out through that one sweet touch, which
even now, still ached, deep within . . .
At first, she had told herself it was concern only, but as time
passed, she knew better. The change had made him unique, someone
no, no . . . mortal . . . girl should ever have. She wanted him
for herself. She had been too shy at first, not knowing how to
approach him, wondering if he could feel her presence as she felt
his. Then, Mieko and he had been seen together at a park, Ari
carrying her in his arms. Speculation had run rampant across the
campus, and after that, they had been inseparable. Slowly, bit
by bit, her hope had begun to die . . .
He remembered the first time with E'ani - the utter thrill as
immense vitality seared through his frail frame, his laughter as
the energy of a thousand souls filled his mind, the radiance of
fire as E'ani opened up the full power of the foci within him . .
.
She remembered, and her heart's ache deepened. He had been just
another boy at school. Then that day came, the day of the
change, first for her and then her friends. It was less than a
month later when she first noticed the change in him as well. It
all came back to her in a rush every time she thought of it,
those strange feelings of the first days when she could feel him
being there, all the way across the room. Glancing sideways to
look at him, seeing nothing different, but knowing the alien feel
of other-not-self, so different from the comfortable warmth and
extension of those that had changed with her.
And now, only a brief, bitter two weeks later, he was lost.
Mieko, a girl she would have sworn was perfectly normal
yesterday, a human, unchanged in any way, now clung to him,
drinking his blood in estacy. "My spot," she whispered softly but
fiercely in anger. 'There is always a terrible lurch when the
world changes on oneself,' she thought to herself, scornful at
her own pain, 'becoming different from what one foolishly thought
it ought to be.'
Looking back into the clearing showed that nothing had changed
yet. Quietly she rose to her feet and backed away, turning to
flee when trees hid her from view. Maybe Karin would know. Gaia
talked to her in ways that none of the rest of them understood.
She was frightened, knowing what she had become, no longer sure
of what Ari was, and terrified of a Mieko that was now some
mythic creature of darkness. Tears began to flow down her cheeks
as she fled crying down the road to get away, far away from that
place, back to the comfort of her friends.
***********************
Two figures stood in darkness, watching, stepping here and there
between. Sighing, she leaned back against him. His dark robes
flowed out around her delicate white form, drawing her deep
within his embrace.
"I like them, Larva," she whispered. His passionless mask gazed
back, voice silent, only the small imperceptable tightening of
his arms about her speaking his assent. Raising one pale hand,
encased in living armor, he flowed backwards into night's breath,
the pool of darkness waiting, death's gentle hands outstretched.
***********************
Some notes of interest - The main pieces of music this was written to were:
Macross Plus Original Soundtrack II, by Yoko Kanno
Primarily tracks 1 (Idol talk) and 9 (VOICES (Acoustic version))
over and over again :)
Music by Mark Knopfler/The Princess Bride
Batman - original motion picture score composed by Danny Elfman
Pop Goes the World by Men Without Hats
Inspired by, directly and indirectly:
Video Girl Ai, Battle Angel Alita, Creamy Mami, Vampire Princess Miyu, The
Mermaid chronicles, Miracle Girls, Maps, Careful Destiny, Ranma 2096, A
delightful fanfic based on Tokyo Babylon/X that is currently on the CLAMP
ML that I cannot remember the name to.
My own, beholden to none, nothing without the others, names and all such
used in accordance with my own will as best I could to fit to what they
are. Original, mine, you don't know anything about it yet, so I do not
worry at possible misuse. :)
A gentle tale of violence, one you will enjoy, my hope. Does the sensual
exist without any words? Only time and my fevered brain can answer. I do
not know. If I did know, I would already have what I so desire. I could
not write this if that were so, left mute, able only to whisper it in my
beloved's ear, for in the end, that is all I want.
Ari is not me, I could never be him, but in all fairness, he is only a
part of me, the part, at night before sleep, which shamelessly flirts with
alien maidens and slays dragons to win my sleepy approval.
Charles K. Hurst - ImageNation Corp. Wage Slave/Employee - RPI graduate-MechE
Chocolate and Anime Forever! 9 monthes a fan and counting.
MI = eps. 96 MB = eps. 64 - 0/12 episodes each to utter boredom or Fushigi!
One note - I've seen two schools of thought. One says to wait to release
until you are done with the fanfic in entirety, ensuring the reader of
seeing the end. Others use the mailing list as a forum to improve their
writing as they go along. I promise to finish, but I know I could not
stand to go much longer without some input, and my friend who started me
on this road does not like my style (go figure, I like his). So, in my
own greed, I turn to you to find my audience. I cannot promise large
volumes in short times, but I will try to post bit by bit the whole story
that now dwells in my mind, waiting only time and patience to put to pen.
It is a very demanding mistress, and so I must take the time it demands of
my soul, else my anguish overwhelm me. Poor Mr. Hemingway, I wonder what
demons tormented him such that death was the only recourse.